Say hello to the LG Optimus G: A quad-core, LTE, Android powerhouse

Move over Samsung. Out of the way, Apple. LG has an announcement to make. Introducing the LG Optimus G – an impressively powerful Android smartphone that could blow away the current competition. This release marks a clear assault on the premium end of the Android handset market. Currently dominated by HTC and Samsung, the high-end Android smartphone market has not been a happy hunting ground for LG, but that could change.

The Optimus G appears to be lightning fast. It’s the first phone to feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 Pro Quad-Core processor and the newest generation Adreno 320 GPU. You can enjoy that smooth frame rate on a 4.7-inch WXGA True HD IPS+ display with a resolution of 1280 x 768 pixels at an impressive 320ppi pixel density.

Drawing on the expertise of its other divisions, the touchscreen uses LG Display technology for better visibility, greater strength, and an extremely slim form factor. (LG Display will probably be supplying the touchscreens for the iPhone 5.) Thanks to LG Chem, the 2,100 mAh battery is designed to take more charges than its rivals.

If you think that’s enough, then be prepared to be even more impressed. The LG Optimus G has a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, 32GB of internal memory, 2GB of RAM, and it supports 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, DLNA, NFC, and everything else you would expect in a high-end release — all in a frame that’s only 8.45mm thick, or a bit thinner than the iPhone 4S.

To help it stand out further from the crowd, we have several additional features. Live Zooming offers the ability to zoom in and out while viewing video. Dual Screen Dual Play, means easy screen mirroring on your TV, but also allows you to view one thing on the phone and another on the TV. You can also take photos with a voice command – the oddly named Cheese Shutter. You can jot memos on screenshots thanks to QMemo. Finally, Time Catch Shot allows you to “select and save the best shot among the images taken just before the shutter button is depressed.”

In short, the LG Optimus G looks awesome. There are only two “buts” in this announcement. Firstly, it runs Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) rather than Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). Secondly, it will be released in South Korea first in September with a worldwide release to follow, but no exact dates or pricing information have been released yet.